Many magazines, newspapers, and other publications have built their readership around the growing market of television (TV) viewers who desire TV program information. Many cable TV networks have even designated a TV channel for providing nothing other than the date, time, and channel, at which TV programs will be presented. These conventional sources of TV program information are only useful if they are readily available to the TV viewer when the viewer desires the information. Unless the viewer is a regular subscriber of a publication or cable TV network which provides this information, these conventional sources may not be sufficiently accessible to be useful to the TV viewer. But even if the viewer were a subscriber, these conventional sources may not be cost effective if the viewer only occasionally makes reference to the program information.
Another drawback of publications containing program information is that TV viewers may not be provided with current program information. Specifically, changes in program formats, scheduling of special broadcasts, and delays in program start times which occur after the publication has gone to press may not be reflected in the publication. Although program listings on cable TV are online and are capable of being periodically updated to reflect program changes and to provide more current program information, this program information source has other drawbacks. In particular, program listings on cable TV are typically presented in a continuous scrolling fashion, and the format of information is typically pre-set to include the time, channel, and title of each program being shown on the current day. Therefore, TV viewers desiring specific program information may have to wait while screens of other program information scroll by before reaching the desired program information.
Another drawback of conventional sources of program information is that the users have no interactive capabilities to narrow the scope of the program information being provided to only that desired by the user. For example, the user does not have the flexibility to request program listings by category (e.g. news, sports, drama, comedy, education) or to specify the time and date of the desired listing. Furthermore, the user does not have the flexibility to obtain a detailed description of any program appearing in the listing. Although some publications provide written detailed descriptions of programs appearing in the listing, such written descriptions may not adequately capture the action, intrigue, and mystery of the program such that readers can envision the contents of the program.
A number of interactive video systems have been described in the prior art which could be utilized to provide program listings to subscribers on demand. (For descriptions of such interactive video systems, see, Communications Architecture and Method Of Distributing Information Services, U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,474, issued Aug. 23, 1994; PSTN Architecture for Video-On-Demand Services, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,347, issued Sep. 21, 1993: Audio and Video Transmission and Receiving System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,992, issued Jul. 21, 1992: Store and Forward Video System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,792, issued Jul. 14, 1992: Communications Architecture and Method of Distributing Information Services, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/884,516, filed May 15, 1992 and allowed Aug. 19, 1994; and Digital lnteractive Communication System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,849, issued Dec. 20, 1988.)
A drawback of many prior interactive video systems is that the user is required to purchase expensive customer premises equipment (CPE) in order to access information. Additionally, interactive video systems, which are primarily designed to support the transport of enhanced video, are "overkill" for users who only want program information, and therefore do not need the capabilities and associated costs of an interactive video system.
Realizing the drawbacks of using previous video interactive systems in providing program listings, an object of our invention is a system and a method of providing to users directory information, comprising TV program listings and similar information, on a cost-effective basis and utilizing subscriber's existing equipment with minimal additions. Given the fact that many potential users of directory information are also telephone subscribers and that the telephony network is an embedded infrastructure reaching most potential directory information users, a further object of our invention is to use the telephony network as the backbone of our system and method.
Recently, the Analog Display Service Interface (ADSI) protocol was developed as a standard for transferring voice and data in the telephony network between network service providers and telephone subscribers. (For more details on the ADSI protocol, see, Generic Requirements for an SPCS to Customer Premises Equipment Data lnterface for Analog Display Services, TR-NWT-001273, December 1992.) The protocol was primarily developed as a result of the desire of network service providers to transmit data to subscribers' CPE, such as screen-based telephones, to assist the subscriber in accessing network voice services and thus increasing subscribers' use of network voice services, such as CLASS.SM. and Custom Calling Services (CCS). FNT CLASS is a Service Mark of Bellcore.
Screen-based telephones comprise screen displays and context-sensitive soft keys, and the telephone screen displays provide users with context sensitive menus, step by step prompts, visual indicators of the services status based on data received from network service providers to facilitate easy access to network voice services. This existing standard protocol for handling the transfer of voice and data between subscriber's CPE and network service providers, however, does not provide for the display of information at a conventional TV monitor associated with the user. Attempting to present at a TV monitor ADSI data signals intended for display on an LCD screen of a ADSI screen-based telephone would result in an unsatisfactory succession of jittery or flickering display on the TV monitor, which is particularly disturbing and irritating to the user. Accordingly, a further object of our invention is a system and method for providing users with directory information utilizing the ADSI standard protocol.
Therefore, in summary, objects of our invention include a system and a method for providing on demand directory information including program listings and similar information utilizing the telephony network and the ADSI standard protocol as the network backbone. To further minimize cost and complexity of providing directory information to users, an object of our invention is to connect our system to users' conventional TV monitors for presenting directory information. A further object is to permit the user to select interactively the directory information that is desired and to request detailed descriptions of programs in the directory, if available. A further object of our invention is a system and method for providing program descriptions to users in the form of text as well as audio to permit users to envision more fully the contents of the programs.